During the holidays I was doodling and scribbeling in my sketchbook, trying to develop some kind of style, and out of the blue came this nice drawing which scanned immediately, and colored quickely with photoshop. (man in snow)

Personally, I like the fact that it's pretty rough, the lines are not smooth, not every part is colored, and well... I impressed myself.

But I'm afraid that I couldn't stick to that level. It was a lucky shot.

Then thought to do something simular, try it again... draw a figure and then color it up, but the result was definitely less. (bronzed man in shirt)

Do you guys experience this? That sometimes when just scribbeling you can do things that amaze you, while when you really try, it just doesn't seem to work, and you can't reach that same level?

dd50

01-13-2005, 10:32 AM

YES! YES! All the time!

I sketch allot of contemporary women ... sort of cartoonish, sort of artish, a bit like yours .. just a little more whimsical, and sometimes I HATE what comes out .. icky poo .. and sometimes I just 'hit' it like you did .. and I love it, and every time I look at her, she makes me smile .. and some of them make me laugh.

I really like both of these ... keep sketching .. some days you'll like em, some days you won't.

May I ask though: how do you figure out just 'where' to put the shading? I have so much trouble with that. Sometimes I just like the simple lines without shading .. and sometimes I like the depth and realism that shading gives.

Care to share?

P.S. I actually like the man in the light shirt best. :)

Hugs,
Dee

amo

01-13-2005, 10:35 PM

Yes, that happens to me, too. But I think that the more you doodle, the more common the "lucky shots" become, until they're no longer lucky, but normal, because you train your eyes & hand to do the things you like (at least that's what I hope will happen with mine :D)

These are both good. There's a lot of movement in the first one, and the shading's good.

AFM159

01-13-2005, 11:49 PM

Sure, happens all the time, when we relax and don't overthink what we are doing.

Fylia

01-14-2005, 01:33 AM

Gee, Thanks all for the comments.

What I hate especially about the man the shirt is his face and the way it's drawn. (I actually like the shirt). I've been drawing people like this for quite a while, but I just don't like them. I have a feeling the first and the second would not fit in the same comic book. Maybe I'm just seeing things... I don't know... Just a thought.

Dee, about the shading... euh... I pcik a light source, or maybe only a direction from where the light comes, and then start shading every thing on the dark side, taking into account the shape of everything and edge (A coat or shirt will not have a straigt shadow, but will follow the form of the coat)... There's actually nothing more to it, except for some exercise and the necessary failures.
Maybe, but that's just a thought, you have to start thinking about 3D-forms even while doing your sketch, not only during the coloring. If you what the form is, you'll easelier know where to put the shades.

A while ago I did some watercolor paintings based on reference pictures, and that thought me a little bit what from where to put the shades, or what they look like (especially on a shirt).
http://www.wetcanvas.com/forums/showthread.php?t=219943

http://www.wetcanvas.com/forums/showthread.php?t=221469

There I received a good thought about shading...
If i may offer a little advice, and actually it really is just me repeating Charles Reid's advice from his portrait video."The lighting is more important than the pose"
What makes portraits look so much better, and any representational painting really, as well as making the artists work easier, is using light to sculpt the form. May I suggest avoiding flash photos, they tend to diminish form and flatten the features, it makes it so much harder to represent the shapes.
When i select a photo to paint from I look mainly at the light and shadow shapes and keep that focus, it essentially becomes the subject.